Journal Entry 1 by espeteroh from Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on Sunday, August 21, 2011

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Journal Entry 2 by espeteroh at McLeansville, North Carolina USA on Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Released 8 mos ago (8/30/2011 UTC) at McLeansville, North Carolina USA

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Journal Entry 3 by glade1 at McLeansville, North Carolina USA on Saturday, September 03, 2011

Received this kind RABCK in the mail on Thursday. Thank you, espeteroh! I loved Kostova's first book and look forward to seeing if this one is just as good. 

Journal Entry 4 by glade1 at McLeansville, North Carolina USA on Saturday, February 18, 2012

It took me forever to read this book, but I don't think it is the fault of the author or the story, which I found engrossing. I've just been in a bit of a reading lull lately - I've been nurturing my passion for crosswords in my spare time instead.

I finished The Swan Thieves today and would certainly recommend it. Like The Historian, it is an involved, richly detailed story. Kostova has a knack for making fictional characters, particularly fictional historical characters, seem so believable as to fool me. I have to admit to Googling Thomas Gilbert so I could take a gander at the controversial Leda and the Swan painting, only to find that he is an artist the author invented! That's a bit embarrassing and shows the shallowness of my knowledge of art, but it also illustrates how convincing Kostova can be.

I very much enjoyed the parallel stories, and the parallels between the stories, of the 19th and 20th-21st century characters. I cannot explain my main criticism of the novel without giving spoilers. Suffice it to say, the ending was a bit abrupt and unsatisfactory to me, after the wonderful detail and complexity of the story up to that point. Nevertheless, this was an entertaining read and I will continue to watch for more from this author!

Thank you again, espeteroh, for the generous RABCK. I'll mark this available until I find a suitable release for it. 

Journal Entry 5 by glade1 at Greensboro, North Carolina USA on Thursday, March 01, 2012

Released 2 mos ago (3/1/2012 UTC) at Greensboro, North Carolina USA

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Sending to tobysrus as a surprise RABCK. Hope you enjoy! (Sent via media mail.) 

Journal Entry 6 by tobysrus at Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on Monday, March 05, 2012

Woo hoo! Received a surprise RABCK in the mail. I too loved "The Historian", thanks for thinking of me glade1. The funny thing is this book appears to have started off from Cambridge, MA and has returned to the same city. Small world! Looking forward to reading it!